ceratophyllum
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I am beginning to see why aquarium shops rarely have these fish. This fish leads to unhappy customers. Especially when aquarium books by Herbert Axlerod call them "peaceful."
These new aquarium books really annoy me when they have all pictures and only icons to tell you about how to care for the fish.
They are somewhat aggressive toward one another. While not murderous, they are not very relaxing to watch. They can become very aggressive toward other species if you only have one and attack vulnerable fish like angels and bettas. (However a group of them seems to keep the sparring within the group. A few jordanella ignored a betta for a week, they were so focused on each other.) Sometimes, especially after a move, they are very timid--enough so that a female betta can hurt them.
Why are they so expensive? They cost a lot more than many imported fish and they are native to Florida! I live in Florida and they're $4 each. You can find them wild all over the place. But if you only look in pet shops, you'd think them rare. The best lfs in my area had only 3 males and the salesman thought they were cichlids. I haven't seen them in shops since the 80s.
They are very destructive to the plants they like. 2 of these guys ate an unbelievable amount of anacharis in a week. Not my favourite plant, but it looks like hell once they're done with it. Now they're starting on the wisteria. On the other hand, they did quickly eat a all of my hairy green algae. They seem to be getting more adventurous in trying strange plants now that the algae is gone.
These new aquarium books really annoy me when they have all pictures and only icons to tell you about how to care for the fish.
They are somewhat aggressive toward one another. While not murderous, they are not very relaxing to watch. They can become very aggressive toward other species if you only have one and attack vulnerable fish like angels and bettas. (However a group of them seems to keep the sparring within the group. A few jordanella ignored a betta for a week, they were so focused on each other.) Sometimes, especially after a move, they are very timid--enough so that a female betta can hurt them.
Why are they so expensive? They cost a lot more than many imported fish and they are native to Florida! I live in Florida and they're $4 each. You can find them wild all over the place. But if you only look in pet shops, you'd think them rare. The best lfs in my area had only 3 males and the salesman thought they were cichlids. I haven't seen them in shops since the 80s.
They are very destructive to the plants they like. 2 of these guys ate an unbelievable amount of anacharis in a week. Not my favourite plant, but it looks like hell once they're done with it. Now they're starting on the wisteria. On the other hand, they did quickly eat a all of my hairy green algae. They seem to be getting more adventurous in trying strange plants now that the algae is gone.